ATLANTA – The state of Georgia’s credit rating is holding strong despite the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the state’s finances.
Georgia again has secured a AAA rating from each of the three main credit rating agencies, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday. Only nine of the states that issue general obligation bonds currently meet this high standard.
Georgia’s AAA ratings from FitchRatings, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings will enable the state to sell its bonds at the lowest possible interest costs when it takes bids for its new issue of general obligation bonds next week.
“This announcement is great news for Georgia, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to fiscal balance and ensuring we can meet our present and future obligations, even as we combat the COVID-19 pandemic’s significant effects on the health of Georgians and the state’s economy,” Kemp said. “This recognition is why the state’s bonds are highly attractive to investors, and as a result, enables the state to save taxpayers millions of dollars each year with low interest rates for borrowing.”
Georgia’s upcoming general obligation bond sale will fund more than $1.1 billion in capital projects approved by the General Assembly in June.
The three ratings agencies credited Kemp and his Republican predecessors in Georgia for conservative fiscal management practices during good and bad economic times and for using a healthy balance of spending cuts and reserves to help offset economic slowdowns that dampen state tax collections.